Sick and Twisted Animation Festival returns

The 20th anniversary of Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival features 17 brand new animated shorts this week at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., in Ferndale.

This year’s festival features: “Feebo!,” a mix of live action and puppet animation about a character who can’t stop peeking under women’s dresses; “Little Quentin,” a film noir fantasy about a furry creature in league with various fedora-wearing gangster types; “Slug Invasion,” a computer-animated tale of slimy creatures in an increasingly violent battle with a homeowner; “Bloody Date,” a clay-animated gore fest about a girl locked in a house; and “Santa: The Fascist Years,” a Bill Plympton tale that imagines St. Nick as Stalin in his treatment not only of elves, but boys and girls around the world.

The Magic Bag has been hosting the Sick and Twisted Festival since 1992, taking credit for unleashing Beavis and Butthead for the first time to unsuspecting Detroit-area audiences. Other festivals were highlighted by premieres of “The Spirit of Christmas” and “Frosty,” early works by “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. In recent years, the Festival has introduced new episodes of “Happy Tree Friends,” cutesy animals whose antics lead to often unspeakable violence.

Show times are 9:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9:30 p.m. Sunday. All shows are for ages 18-over. Admission is $8 each day.